Badlands News Brief
Badlands News Brief
Trump Returns to DC as Globalists Panic
The News Cycle is almost impossible to track these days. At least, to do so fully.
That’s where we come in.
In the Badlands News Brief, the Badlands Media team hand pick news items of interest from the previous days to give you an overview of the biggest goings-on relevant to the Truth Community with some Badlands flavoring to help wash it down.
Now, onto the news from Thursday, June 13 …
Cheers, cake and a fist-bump from GOP as Trump returns to Capitol Hill in a first since Jan. 6 riot
Donald Trump made a triumphant return to Capitol Hill on Thursday, his first with lawmakers since the Jan.6, 2021 attacks, embraced by energized House and Senate Republicans who find themselves reinvigorated by his bid to retake the White House.
Despite pending federal charges against Trump for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election, and his recent guilty verdict in an unrelated hush money trial, the Republican former president arrived emboldened as the party’s presumptive nominee. He has successfully purged the GOP of critics, silenced most skeptics and enticed once-critical lawmakers aboard his MAGA-fueled campaign.
A packed room of House Republicans sang “Happy Birthday” to Trump in a private breakfast meeting at GOP campaign headquarters across the street from the Capitol. The lawmakers gave him a baseball and bat from the annual congressional game, and senators later presented an American flag cake with “45” candles — and then “47" — referring to the next presidency. Trump bragged that even his telephone rallies for lawmakers could draw bigger crowds than mega-popstar Taylor Swift, who has yet to make any endorsement. — AP News
Our Take: I think the author of this AP News article is trying to be snarky, but it’s landing as schizophrenic paranoia. Maybe it just is what it is.
In the lead sentence, the reporter talks about Trump’s ‘triumphant return to Capitol Hill,’ then, in the same sentence, references the reported meetings as, ‘his first since sending the mob to “fight like hell” ahead of the Jan.6, 2021 attack,.’
Several Republicans are quoted as supporting Trump — Speaker Johnson, Mitch McConnell, John Thune. Only two Democrats appear in the article, and only one of them is a legislator and relevant to the story — Pete Aguilar. The second Democrat quoted is disgraced former police offer Harry Dunn, a Democrat political influencer, not dissimilar to Harry Sisson.
Dunn is there because this is political theater, not news. Consider this line:
‘He has successfully purged the GOP of critics, silenced most skeptics and enticed once-critical lawmakers aboard his MAGA-fueled campaign.’
President Trump didn’t purge the GOP of critics — voters did. Think Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger. The voters’ responses to the actions of ‘critics’ is why those critics are no longer doing the People’s work.
Does AP News believe voters should choose their representatives?
On her second point, the reporter claims Trump has ‘silenced most skeptics,’ which is a bold assertion with no foundation. Who has been silenced by 45? Outlets like AP won’t shut up about how Trump is going to do all the horrible things (that Joe Biden is currently doing) if elected. Who was silenced?
Then there’s the ‘MAGA-fueled campaign.’
A campaign fueled by making America great again is a winning campaign. Opposing making America great again is a bad look. It’s so simple, and yet they keep falling into it.
As we discussed earlier this week, following the Europarl news from Sunday, populism is rising because the globalists overplayed their hand and abused their power. That fact has never been more apparent, and the AP is living in denial that the people’s rebuke of their handlers is anything other than democracy in action.
My favorite part of this article is this gaslighting panic:
‘As democracies around the world come under threat from a far-rightward shift, experts warn that the U.S. system, once seemingly immune from authoritarian impulses, is at risk of populist and extremist forces like those that Trump inspired to sack the Capitol.’
With the author’s hysteria reaching crescendo, she employs anonymous experts through which she claims that US systems were once ‘immune from authoritarian impulses’ before Trump. It’s just Schizophrenic paranoia, shielding for authoritarians who gave into their worst impulses a long time ago.
Now consider that this article isn’t labeled as ‘Opinion,’ but rather reporting under the ‘Politics’ category, and a couple paragraphs down we find this: ‘The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848.’
What a time to be alive. MAGA-fueled accountability for the win. —
Trump floats eliminating U.S. income tax and replacing it with tariffs on imports
Donald Trump on Thursday brought up the idea of imposing an “all tariff policy” that would ultimately enable the U.S. to get rid of the income tax, sources in a private meeting with the Republican presidential candidate told CNBC.
Trump, in the meeting with GOP lawmakers at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C., also talked about using tariffs to leverage negotiating power over bad actors, according to another source in the room.
The remarks show Trump, who championed tariffs as a foreign policy multi-tool during his first term in office, is considering a drastically more protectionist trade agenda if he defeats President Joe Biden in November.
Spokespeople for Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment. Trump in a Truth Social post later Thursday morning said there was “lots discussed, all positive” in the meeting, without providing any more details. — NBC News
Our Take: If Trump chooses to campaign on funding the government via tariffs rather than taxes, the Uniparty candidates will have to defend taxation in debates as part of their platforms - this is totally untenable.
Regime media - including ConInc media - would have to make pro-tax arguments that would inevitably lead to questions about the legality and constitutionality of the federal income tax in the first place.
How will people telling you to pay taxes look then? Like cuckolds.
What would it mean to the average American to understand the government has just been robbing him for his entire life?
This is one of many reasons why only degenerate retards think Trump will not have a vast, united majority. —
Another Take: It's a genuinely incredible pincer move.
Typically, the commie counter against threats to end taxation is something along the lines of "muh roads."
If you have two brain cells to rub together to make a third, you'll already know that's an argument put together by Prussians (literally,) meant to cow you into the belief that we need the government to steal from us in order to build the very infrastructure a free market would already very obviously put together in order to transact, live and thrive free of intervention.
BUT ... we wouldn't be in an Info War if the logical answer was the way to counter decades of engineered propaganda and systematized control.
Here, Trump is proposing to eliminate taxation WITHOUT threatening "muh roads," as funding will still be plentiful in the form of that globalist trade commies are always carrying on about.
Surely they can't argue that taxes levied on voluntary foreign trade partners are immoral, when taxes on Americans are moral?
Beautiful. —
Biden’s Israel policy may hasten Trump’s rise, US allies fear
President Joe Biden’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza has caused him no shortage of political troubles back home. And the rest of the world is noticing.
Diplomats and world leaders — many of whom are gathering for the G7 summit here this week — have begun to worry that Biden’s reluctance to more fully break with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could cost him the election in November.
Their concerns, which were relayed by five foreign policy experts and former U.S. government officials in touch with foreign officials, have been conveyed largely behind closed doors, out of consideration not to wade too far into U.S. domestic politics. But the thrust is often the same: The war has furthered the perception that the world is peppered with a variety of out-of-control hot spots and, in turn, made Biden look weak among voters back home.
They fear that it may usher in former President Donald Trump and rupture the broader diplomatic harmony Biden has worked to establish. — Politico
Our Take: Do you understand why it had to be this way? Why this had to unfold with Trump "off-stage?"
Unconditionally supporting Israel is a traditional Republican position. However, I would argue that unconditionally supporting any government—especially a foreign government—is antithetical to true American values.
I know some (maybe many) get upset over my commentary regarding Israel—I've got the DM's to prove it-- but the reality is that many within the MAGA movement were already conveniently voting Republican when Trump came into office. While some may have been apprehensive toward him due to non-policy issues (personality, rhetoric, etc), everybody has come around to love him for who he is; but they have not had to "move" very far in that adjustment.
Contrast that with
—a former Democrat—who has talked about how his entire worldview was upended by the revelations he experienced through witnessing Trump's presidency. Revelations that have fundamentally changed his life and helped make him the person that he is today. (And we thank God for that, as Chris has become one of the most ardent voices of reason in our movement.)There are still too many who cling to narratives that were indoctrinated into us by the Establishment, while simultaneously recognizing that said Establishment has lied to us about every other aspect of our reality. That is called "cognitive dissonance," and we have spent years ridiculing the Left for indulging in it.
The reality is that the Right has also been indoctrinated, under a different set of narratives, and we are just as easily triggered into fits of emotional rage when those indoctrinated narratives are challenged.
Not even Donald Trump can liberate you from the deep bondage of conditioning, without suffering your contempt. (Just look at the COVID/vax narrative.) That is a journey on which we all must choose to embark on our own. Many have answered the call and embarked on that journey.
If Israel is to be saved, it must be liberated from the clutches of radical Zionism. (Just as Arabia must be liberated from the clutches of Radical Islam.) As of now, they are on the path of certain doom, picking fights that they cannot finish without American blood.
Trump will return, and bring with him the Age of Peace. But we must transform ourselves into the sovereign people we are destined to be. —
US and Ukraine expected to sign long-term security agreement at G7
The US and Ukraine are expected to sign a bilateral security pact on the sidelines of the G7 in Italy on Thursday, multiple people familiar with the matter told CNN, in a deal that lays out a path for the US’ long-term security relationship with Kyiv but that could also be undone by future US administrations.
The agreement follows months of negotiations between the US and Ukraine and is expected to commit the US for 10 years to continued training of Ukraine’s armed forces, more cooperation in the production of weapons and military equipment, the continued provision of military assistance and greater intelligence sharing.
But the pledge is expected to be an “executive agreement,” the sources said, making it less formal than a treaty and not necessarily binding for any future presidents.
Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has not explicitly said whether he would continue support for Ukraine if he wins in November, saying only that he would negotiate a quick end to the Russia-Ukraine war without explaining how. He has also pushed European countries to contribute more to their own defense and said he’d “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” if Europe didn’t increase its defense funding.
The US-Ukraine agreement does not make a specific monetary pledge to support Ukraine’s defense, two of the sources familiar with the agreement said. An annex in the agreement will lay out how the Biden administration plans to work with Congress on the implementation of the security commitments, one of the sources said, specifically the long-term funding that will be needed to support Ukraine’s defense. — CNN
Our Take: On a recent episode of the Power Hour,
pointed out that the exhaustive media reporting on Joe Biden's Executive Order on US border action was missing one fairly important detail:There was no executive order.
In fact, the Biden Admin never claimed to have issued an executive order on the US border. They simply made a public declaration on border enforcement ... which is, quite literally, the same thing as doing nothing.
So, when we see exhaustive headlines this week about the same admin signing a 10-year deal to 'Arm and Train' defense forces in Ukraine against the dastardly Russians, you need to go Bicameral.
On a narrative level, this is catastrophic for the regime to the normie hivemind, who don't want to be involved in the continued funding of foreign wars.
On an actual level ... the administrative action is, quite literally, an "executive agreement," meaning it has NO permanent enforceability, and can immediately be undone by future administrations. —
G7 leaders agree on $50B in Ukraine aid using frozen Russian assets
Group of Seven leaders have agreed to send Ukraine $50 billion in aid by the end of the year by using profits generated by around $300 billion worth of sovereign Russian assets frozen in Western countries, President Biden said on Thursday.
Why it matters: In its third year on the defense against Russia's unprovoked invasion, the aid will be a major boon for Kyiv, which has been desperate for additional financial and military assistance.
But the move may open Western assets in Russia to retaliatory confiscations made possible by a decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year.
Context: The agreement comes after Western leaders have debated for months on if or how they should leverage Russia's assets to either help with Ukraine's defense or recovery from the invasion.
The U.S. has proposed seizing the assets outright, a move European leaders are hesitant of over legal and financial concerns.
The EU last month instead agreed to aid Ukraine using only interest from the frozen assets, which generate between $2.7 and $3.3 billion, annually.
Zoom in: The deal came together as G7 leaders started a summit in Italy on Thursday and before an international peace conference on Ukraine in Switzerland, which is set to start on Saturday. — Axios
And …
Some countries back out of plans to attend Swiss-hosted Ukraine conference
Some countries backed out of plans to attend the "peace conference" on Ukraine in Switzerland, prompting the number of participating nations to drop from 93 to 78, according to the Ukrainian service of Radio Liberty (designated in Russia as a foreign media agent and included in the register of undesirable organizations).
The report, which cites unidentified EU diplomats, didn’t name the countries that pulled out of the conference. One diplomat said the number of withdrawals could rise.
Sergey Nikiforov, a spokesman for Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, declined to give the number of participating countries.
"We would not like to state the final number," he said on Rada television on Tuesday. — TASS
Our Take: The Globalist Empire is having a terrible week, suffering two moments of humiliation from the Sovereign Alliance on the world stage.
First, we have the G7 Summit that began yesterday in Italy. The origins of this event stem from the 1973 Oil Crisis, which was provoked by Israel's Yom Kippur War, to serve as a forum for the most powerful industrialized nations to gather and "solve" the world's problems.
Let's take a look at this year's attendees:
Despite the seven-nation membership (+ the EU), other relevant nations are often invited to attend. However, this year, very few of those other nations have accepted the invitation.
What makes the snub even more humiliating is the fact that even yesterday—the first day of the summit—it was being reported (has since been updated) that Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Turkey would attend. The UAE has declined, as did Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the last minute—after receiving Zelensky, who flew to Riyadh on his way to the G7, in an unannounced visit. (Wonder what they discussed?) More than half of that article was devoted to MBS and Saudi Arabia, and the importance of his first G7 visit as Europe is desperate for Saudi investment in their countries. (haha)
Turkey's Erdogan decided to skip the first day of the summit, instead flying to Spain to issue a joint state with their president on the Gaza conflict. Considering that Britain opened the summit by issuing new sanctions against Turkey—likely due to their recently reported desire to join BRICS—I wonder if Erdogan will even show up today.
China and Brazil already said they weren't coming if Russia was excluded. (Bros before hoes.)
Considering that last year's October 7th attack by Hamas was purportedly scheduled for the 50-year anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, it is poetic that this conflict is serving as the backdrop for the death knell of the G7.
Now shifting to the globalist peace conference scheduled for this weekend in Switzerland, of the 160 nations who were originally invited, 82 have already officially declined, and there are still many among the remaining 78 who have not officially committed—despite the conference beginning tomorrow. The most notable of the defectors is Modi of India, who joined China and Brazil in refusing to be involved if Russia was excluded. (A huge snub, since he is already next-door to the peace conference, attending the G7.)
Even the NYT is calling this summit's showing pathetic.
MBS and the Ummah (57 nations) have said the same thing, and plan to host their own peace conference this fall which will include Russia, China, Brazil, India, and all the other good lads from the Alliance.
So the globalists have decided to further loot the coffers of their nations, and laundering that money through Ukraine? Fine. The Sovereign Alliance is decimating the Globalist Empire, and summer hasn't even officially started. Things are going to get a lot hotter. —
The European Parliament elections have upended French politics
The European Parliament’s (EP) elections took place over four days, from June 6 to June 9, 2024, across the European continent. Final projections indicate that there might be more continuity than expected in the European legislative body’s new parliamentary formation—but the results incited a political earthquake in France.
The final results of the EP elections in France show a large victory for Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen, the far-right National Rally’s (RN) president and parliamentary group leader, respectively. They obtained about 31.4% of the vote share. In fact, with the vote share of splinter party Reconquête (about 5.5%), the far right represents nearly 40% of the vote in France—its highest percentage to date. By contrast, French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party obtained only 14.6% of the vote, despite having built his political platform around the theme of an existential battle between pro- and anti-European forces, represented by the far right. This strategy worked for Macron in the 2019 EP and the 2022 French presidential elections but failed this time. Indeed, the weekend’s results are consistent with projections by pollsters and indicate that the vote in favor of Le Pen and her protégé Bardella is no longer solely a protest vote. The far-right is now the premier political force in France. In the first European elections held in 1979, the vote share garnered by the RN—then the FN (Front National)—was 1.31%. — Brookings
Our Take: MAGA is a global movement. The idea that each nation preserve and protect its people, traditions, culture, and history is the hearts’ cry of our current political moment — globally. With that in mind, let’s check out how the people are making France great again.
‘The high risk that the RN will win the snap elections is cause for great concern…If this far-right party coalition comes to fruition and wins the snap elections, France will have a far-right prime minister for the first time since the end of World War II.’
The French Mockingbirds, or oiseaux moqueurs, are wigging. A visit to French X reveals why. Establishment politicians on both the ‘left’ and ‘right’ in France are getting roasted.
In case you’re still not convinced that MAGA is a global movement, Brookings drives the point home deep into their analysis.
‘RN has completely appropriated much of the vocabulary traditionally reserved to the left (a new move by the far right in France, but one that the MAGA wing of the U.S. Republican Party has frequently used). This is upending and fundamentally restructuring French politics.’
Read that last quote again. Deconstructing their narratives and forcing a principled stance on Rights is working.
Nous accélérons. —
U.S. scrambling to prevent Israel-Hezbollah war amid Gaza ceasefire push
The Biden administration has grown extremely concerned that escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah in recent days will deteriorate into an all-out war — and is scrambling to prevent it, according to U.S. officials.
Why it matters: Amid the highly sensitive push to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza, a full-blown war with the Lebanese militant group would dramatically exacerbate the regional crisis and draw the U.S. deeper into the conflict.
Behind the scenes: The Biden administration has cautioned Israel in recent weeks against the notion of "a limited war" in Lebanon — warning that Iran could intervene and flood Lebanon with pro-Iranian militants from Syria, Iraq and even Yemen who would want to join the fighting.
The U.S. is concerned about Israel rushing into a war with Hezbollah — or getting dragged into one — without a clear strategy or consideration of the full implications of a wider conflict, officials say.
U.S. officials say the Biden administration is trying to contain the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah as much as possible while working to secure a hostage-ceasefire deal in Gaza.
The White House believes that a ceasefire in Gaza is the only thing that would significantly de-escalate the tensions on the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Driving the news: Israel conducted an airstrike on Tuesday that killed a senior Hezbollah commander in the town of Jwaya, around six miles north of the border. — Axios
Our Take:
We may actually get a full-scale LOTR battle scene before this is all over.
This must be those "precision strikes" that we hear so much about.
But seriously, Hezbollah is a very different animal from Hamas. Hamas is the JV squad. They are third-world guerillas who have been trained up by Langley or one of its affiliates. (Though to their credit, they have learned how to manufacture their own sniper rifles, and have become proficient marksmen.) Hamas is basically a street gang that has been given the resources to amass an army and engage in asymmetric warfare against a fully-equipped and well-trained state military.
Hezbollah is the Varsity team, more akin to a state military. Formed in 1982 in response to Israel's invasion of Lebanon, they are backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, and there are allegations that they were trained by the CIA as part of the mujahideen programs that spun off of Operation Cyclone—the CIA project that helped Osama bin Laden create an "Afghan-Arab" army to fight the Soviets in the 1980's, and led to the formation of Al Qaeda.
Hezbollah has an army larger than the Lebanese national military, with an estimated 30,000 fighters and another 20,000 reservists—though their leaders claim to be 100,000 strong. Confirmed reports number their ballistic missile supply at between 100,000 and 150,000. For the past 10 years, they have been fighting in Syria alongside the Russians in defense of Bashar Al Assad and the national government, and possess T-55 and T-72 Soviet tanks. It was reported last fall that Russia's Wagner Group was sending mobile air defense vehicles to Hezbollah, and this week it was reported that Hezbollah fired anti-air missiles at IDF warplanes.
Hezbollah has an extensive intelligence network, and secret service apparatus that has been described as "one of the best in the world," having reportedly infiltrated the IDF.
The point is these guys are not amateurs. They are hardened war fighters, far more experienced than Hamas—which, according to Colonel Douglas Macgregor, is winning the war against the IDF. And as
has reported, the United States funds both the IDF and the Lebanese military, as well as Hamas.Why? Why are we funding all sides?
(Control.) —
Donald Trump talks bitcoin mining and policy at Mar-a-Lago
Donald Trump met with leading bitcoin mining executives at the former president's Mar-a-Lago residence Tuesday, engaging with them on related policy issues.
Why it matters: It's the latest development in the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's newfound embrace of the cryptocurrency industry, as he continues to force it into the 2024 election conversation.
Behind the scenes: The mining industry's "Power 30" was in the room, nine to 11 executives from firms collectively representing 30% of the total computing power on the Bitcoin network, according to Jayson Browder, a senior vice president at Marathon Digital, one of the largest publicly-traded mining firms in the U.S.
Executives from Riot Platforms, Terawulf, CleanSpark, Core Scientific, Arkon Energy, Cholla Energy and Exacore were among those in attendance, CNBC reported.
Trump held an Auradine ASIC chip in his hand and was pleased: "He was like, 'Made in America.' Great," Browder said, describing the event for Axios.
Zoom in: Browder described Trump as prepared and informed. — Axios
Our Take: Trump's meeting with the bulk of the US-based Bitcoin mining industry on Tuesday made a lot of headlines in the crypto world, which makes sense ... but it's also ruffled the feathers of the establishment, who have taken about 48 hours to attempt to process what's going on.
(Hint: they still have no idea.)
Among the various write-ups on the meeting, a few interesting patterns emerge that stand at odds both with normies who haven't yet dipped their toes into what true decentralization means ... AND to some Bitcoin maximalists, who think THEY are the ones leading Trump to Bitcoin, when the truth is much more encouraging.
From an Axios summary:
"Browder (VP at Marathon Digital,) described Trump as prepared and informed ... He understood how bitcoin mining would support these things like AI."
Why is this encouraging?
Because it shows that the public narrative doesn't move Trump and patriots. They move the public narrative.
We just get to front-run it. —
BONUS ITEMS
Elon Musk scores a win — but he's not out of the woods yet
Tesla announced during its annual meeting on Thursday that it had won approval for Elon Musk's pay package after weeks of campaigning.
Musk was quick to celebrate the win: "Hot damn! I love you guys," he said.
At the event, Musk took to the stage to do a victory dance but the company has only won its first battle.
Despite investor approval, Musk won't get his pay package back just yet. The next step: Tesla must take the issue back to court.
Musk's pay plan was initially approved in 2018 but was struck down by a Delaware judge in January after a Tesla shareholder filed a lawsuit alleging the agreement was "beyond the bounds of reasonable judgment." — Business Insider
WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich to stand trial in Russia on espionage charges
Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich will stand trial for espionage charges, Russian prosecutors said in a statement Thursday.
Why it matters: A trial would likely resemble other sham proceedings against Americans detained in Russia and political opponents of the Kremlin. Moscow may use it to ratchet up pressure on the U.S. in ongoing prisoner swap talks for Gershkovich.
Context: Gershkovich, the first journalist to be arrested and held on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War, has been in jail for over a year without formal charges or a trial.
The U.S. Department of State designated him as wrongfully detained, and the Journal has repeatedly defended his reporting, rejected Russia's espionage claims and called for his release.
Russian authorities have yet to present evidence to support their claims and did not schedule the trial for a specific date.
Driving the news: The office of Russia's General Prosecutor said it approved an indictment against Gershkovich, claiming an investigation found he had collected information about a tank factory in March 2023 "on instructions from the CIA." — Axios
We hope you enjoyed this brief look back at the major news items you might have missed in this ever-escalating and ever-accelerating news cycle as the Information War continues to rage on around us.
As always, if you have any thoughts on these news items or the MANY others swirling in the digital ether, drop into the comments below to share them with your fellow Badlanders.
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Perhaps getting rid of the income tax and levying tariffs on imports is not a bad thing. I think pretty much every American out there would be glad not to pay income tax. What we (my husband and I) pay in income tax every year would be equal to someone’s really really nice salary. It’s ridiculous and it’s unfair and I believe unconstitutional. Think of what we could do with that money that stayed in our pockets, in our bank accounts. Wouldn’t it also encourage us to buy American Instead of buying foreign produced products? If the tariffs on imports cause foreign products to be more expensive, maybe it would encourage American manufacturing again. Maybe it would encourage people to buy local , buy what Americans produce here. I don’t know that’s just me thinking out loud.
"Far right" in Europe means ordinary people who do not want their countries ruined. Also, refer to those who think the 2020 elections were fair as "election fraud deniers."